As much as we like to grab Frank off somewhere, we can't. He's a detective – gotta give him some work to do first.
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Chapter 9:
"Look out!" shouted Joe. Hurriedly, he yanked Vanessa onto the pavement as the car went zooming past, narrowly missing them by the inches. Phew, that was close!
Frank and Katie were sprawled on the pavement not far behind Joe. Frank had heard the car too, and had quickly grabbed Katie, shoving her out of the way of the speeding car. "Ow – that monster of a car…" he muttered, getting up.
"Joe! Come back here!" yelled Frank, seeing his brother take off after the green car. What does he want to do that for? he groaned, shaking his head as he got up to his feet. Doesn't he know that he will never catch up with that thing on foot? He stared in the direction where the car (and Joe!) had gone, with a certain suspicious feeling that it was a deliberate attempt of running them down.
"Kate, you alright?" Vanessa asked, seeing the smaller girl cringe as she attempted to get up. Instantly, Vanessa hurried over and helped her to her feet.
"Ugh," Katie winced as she put her left foot down gingerly.
"That looks like a nasty sprain," Frank observed. "Can you walk?" He noticed that it was beginning to swell and his brows furrowed. "I should take you home," he mused aloud, but Joe was no where to be seen.
Katie assured him she was fine. Frank nodded, then scanned the road again for his brother. Now, where had that Joe gone to?
Joe sprinted back a little while later. "Manage to… catch a glimpse of the license number," he panted, as he read out the number to Frank.
"Good job, brother. We'll check the number out later. Maybe we'll find out who's the owner."
By the time they reached Mr. Pizza, Katie's ankle was hurting considerably. The others, seeing that it was badly swollen, insisted that she sit down at once.
Biff and Chet were already at the table, looking impatient as they came in. "What took you guys so long?" Biff asked. "We've already placed the orders. Jerry's at the sports store – he needed a new baseball bat."
In a low voice, Joe explained to them about the car. Frank walked straight to the counter to ask Tony for a first-aid kit.
"Let's have a look at that," said Frank, when he came back with a first-aid kit in his hand.
Katie flushed as Frank attended to her ankle. "Thanks, Frank. I... I think I can manage this on my own," she said, somewhat embarrased at all the attention. "I'm fine, really."
"Hold still," Frank commanded, as her movements jerked the bandage loose. "That's a nasty sprain and you know it, so stop saying that you're fine. I have enough of 'I'm fine's' from Joe, okay?" Joe raised his brows, but he said nothing.
Away at a table near the window, two pairs of brown eyes watched Frank intently as he gave the bandage a final twist.
"Jealous?" Steve asked as he reached for Callie's hand across the table. Callie did not reply. She suddenly felt like crying. Blinking back a tear, she reached for a slice of pizza. Steve sighed, and turned his head towards the window.
Callie ate silently. She just had a sudden flashback of Frank treating her own sprained ankle two summers ago. She had twisted her ankle once while they were on a case, and Frank had treated the injury with ice and an elastic bandage. Now, he was doing the same to another girl, and that, a girl he barely knew. Somehow, it just hurt too much to watch…
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Right, I know this may be a little disappointing chapter for those of you who were hoping for the car to grab Frank. (evil kids, you guys!) But then, we just need Frank's thinking brain a little while more…